Syrian Uprising 2011 Information Centre: SUMMARY (09/04/2012): At least 160 martyrs fell today as the regime added 3 new massacres – in Tal Rifaat (Aleppo), Latamneh (Hama), Bashiriyah (Idlib) – to the already extensive list of atrocities and the ongoing destruction of Homs. The killing even crossed over to both Turkey and Lebanon. Kofi Annan’s deadline is tomorrow – after more than 1 year, after 13,000 dead, it is time to STOP THE SLAUGHTER. Syria – 9 April – Google map

Syrian Uprising 2011 Information Centre: New HRW report documents more than a dozen incidents of extrajudicial killings in Idlib and Homs in which there were more than 100 victims, at least 85 of them unarmed residents including women and children.

“In a desperate attempt to crush the uprising, Syrian forces have executed people in cold blood, civilians and opposition fighters alike… They are doing it in broad daylight and in front of witnesses, evidently not concerned about any accountability for their crimes.”

AL JAZEERA REPORTING…. but ignoring the video of the martyred camp resident posted from the camp….Houses have been damaged in Turkey by the firing. Syrian forces have fired across the border at protesters at a refugee camp in Turkey, wounding a Turkish translator and at least two Syrian refugees.

Damascus, April 8 / April (Rn) – The active response in Syria on Sunday that the Syrian regime forces arrested 20 young Kurds tried to sneak into the Kurdistan region of Iraq to escape the volatile situation in the country since more than a year on the age of the uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

[Comment: these people are reported to be of conscription age. Kurds were being killed by the army during their military service in the years before this revolution took off a year ago. They are sent onto the front line now and have been murdered by those behind them for refusing to shoot civilians].

We are all Hamza Alkhateeb: Important Breaking News: BBC REPORTER NOW ON TURKISH BORDER …. they can hear the sound of Syrian forces firing on people trying to flee into Turkey …. and this morning the regime is targeting the refugees in Kles Turkish camp … We have a martyr and 3 injured Syrians there … Please please pray for them:

English Speakers to Help The Syrian Revolution: HAMA: KAFR ZITA: Surrounded by regime forces, heavy presence of military forces in KAZUO, with fears of attack, BAYYAD Neighourhood HAMA Regime forces surrounding neighborhood since the early morning hours with large groups of military vehicles. A search and arrest campaign of a number of young men.

HELICOPTERS SHELLING DISPLACED CITIZENS ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF ALEPPO BURNING HOUSES WITH THE PEOPLE IN THEM: TAL RIFA’AT: 30 people have been killed and dozens wounded, some in critical condition The regimed helicopters are shelling the displaced citizens on the periphery of the city. Assad’s terrorist thugs and shabiha are burning houses while the people inhabitants are still in them. A true massacre is going on in Tal Rifa’at.

Rebels in Syria have rejected a last-minute demand by the government, made just 48 hours ahead of a proposed ceasefire which now looks set to fail.

Damascus on Sunday called for written guarantees from rebel fighters to end attacks and a promise from foreign states not to fund them.

The Free Syrian Army said it backed the UN-Arab League truce, but refused to meet the government’s demands.

Violence has risen ahead of Tuesday’s deadline for the ceasefire to start.

Activists said nearly 70 people were killed on Sunday, bringing the weekend death toll over the weekend to at least 180, most of them civilians.

On Monday, Turkey said a Turkish translator and two Syrian nationals were wounded overnight at the Kilis refugee camp by shots fired from the Syrian side of the border.

Also on Monday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem is visiting Russia – Syria’s key ally – for what may now be crucial talks on the crisis.

‘Unacceptable’

Syria’s opposition says the new demands are a ploy by President Bashar al-Assad to derail the peace plan mediated by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.

The Free Syrian Army’s Col Riyad al-Asaad told Associated Press news agency that while his troops were “committed” to the plan, they did not recognise the Assad government “and for that reason we will not give guarantees”.

The ceasefire is due to come into effect on Tuesday after government troops pull back from populated areas.

But on Sunday, the Syrian foreign ministry cast new doubt on the agreement, saying it did not want the rebels to exploit any troop withdrawal to reorganise and rearm themselves.

“To say that Syria will pull back its forces from towns on April 10 is inaccurate, Kofi Annan having not yet presented written guarantees on the acceptance by armed terrorist groups of a halt to all violence.”

It said that the regime was also awaiting written guarantees from the governments of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey “on stopping their funding to terrorist groups”.

“Syria is not going to repeat what happened in the presence of Arab observers when armed forces left towns,” the foreign ministry said, referring to a monitoring mission by the Arab League earlier this year which failed to end the violence.

Foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said: “Syria has a plan for military pullback already in place and being implemented, but completing and achieving the main goal would definitely require the guarantees from the other side and those supporting them.”

Meanwhile, Mr Annan called the recent escalation of violence “unacceptable” and appealed to the Syrian government to abide by its commitments.

“This is a time when we must all urgently work towards a full cessation of hostilities, providing the space for humanitarian access and creating the conditions for a political process,” he said.

The shooting into the Kilis refugee camp is the first such attack since Turkey began housing refugees. Turkey called in the Syrian charge d’affaires to protest.

Mr Annan will reportedly visit Syrian refugees on the Turkish border on Tuesday.

A Turkish diplomatic source told AFP: “The visit will only last a few hours, ahead of Annan’s trip to Iran.”

The BBC’s Jonathan Head, on the Turkey-Syria border, says this is a necessary move by Kofi Annan as there is a diplomatic need for him to show his concern for those who have fled.

Mr Muallem is scheduled to travel to Moscow on Monday for talks and correspondents say the focus may now fall on Russia to try to salvage the Annan plan.

On Monday Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin called on the government and opposition in Syria to “honour their commitment of ceasefire and withdrawal of troops”.

However, the violence showed no sign of abating on Monday, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights group reporting that at least six members of the Syrian security forces had been killed in clashes close to the Turkish border.

The UN says more than 9,000 people have been killed in the uprising against Mr Assad’s rule which began more than a year ago.

The Syrian government says 2,000 security personnel have been killed in the uprising and blames the violence on “armed gangs” and “terrorists”.

Analysis: Jim Muir BBC News, Beirut

Russia is a crucial diplomatic player in the Syria crisis. It hasn’t yet made its views known about the spanner that’s suddenly been thrown into the works by Syria’s demand for prior written guarantees not just that the rebel fighters will cease fire too, but also that they will surrender their weapons, and that countries supporting them must also formally pledge to stop doing so.

Russia, and China, supported the UN Security Council statement last Thursday, calling on Syria to honour a pledge it had given to Kofi Annan, that it would complete a withdrawal of its military from towns and cities by Tuesday and stop using heavy weapons. None of that has happened so far and the crackdown continues.

If the Russians and others can’t salvage the Annan plan by persuading the Syrians to moderate their demands, it will be back to the Security Council, which has said it will consider “further measures” depending on the fate of the peace process.

[later comments:]

Turkey is furious at the latest violence spilling over the border from Syria. These are serious incidents which will exacerbate already high political tensions between Turkey and Syria.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is already very concerned about the conduct of the counter-insurgency in Syria. He has strongly insisted on changes by the Syrian government and is gravely disappointed with his former ally, President Bashar al-Assad.

President Assad is facing growing pressure from Turkey for some kind of action, perhaps involving a protected buffer zone or corridor, inside Syria.

It is all speculation at the moment, but this is the kind of thinking that could emerge the more we have these kinds of incidents and the more the peace process in Syria stumbles.

Turkey has protested after Syrian forces opened fire across the border, in the first such attack since Turkey began housing refugees from the unrest.

Ankara summoned Syria’s envoy after two incidents in which violence spilled over into Turkey, leaving at least two people dead and many injured.

Separately, a Lebanese cameraman was shot dead on the Syria-Lebanon border.

The violence comes amid fading hopes that a UN-brokered Syria ceasefire will start on Tuesday as planned.

Monday has proved to be one of the bloodiest days of the uprising despite the truce deal, which should be marked by troop withdrawals from towns and cities if it is being implemented.

Activists reported more than 100 deaths – among them at least 30 civilians who died during Syrian army bombardment in the central province of Hama.

Harrowing scenes were reported in the town of al-Latmana, where 17 women and eight children were said to have been crushed under the rubble of their homes in the second attack on the area in days.

The deaths come as a report by Human Rights Watch accused Syrian forces of carrying out more than 100 summary executions since March. The report says most of the victims were civilians.

Annan visit

In the first of the skirmishes on the Turkish border at least two people died after people crossing from Syria into Turkey at Kilis were shot at by the Syrian army. The governor of Kilis told the BBC that 18 people were also wounded.

In the second incident two Syrian refugees and a Turkish translator were wounded inside a refugee camp after being hit by stray bullets from clashes between Syrian rebels and troops, according to Turkey’s foreign affairs ministry.

Turkey summoned Syria’s envoy to demand an immediate halt to such violence.

In a separate incident, a Lebanese cameraman for Lebanon’s Al-Jadeed television channel was shot dead amid gunfire in the border region between Syria and Lebanon’s northern Wadi Khaled district.

Ali Shaaban was killed and a colleague injured when a film crew from Al-Jadeed came under a hail of bullets from troops on the Syrian side of the border.

Lebanon’s prime minister condemned the killing of Mr Shaaban.

The BBC’s Jonathan Head, on the Turkey-Syria border, says the Syrian army has been careful to keep away from the border but that seems to have broken down this time.

He says incidents like this have inflamed emotions in Turkey and the Turkish government has almost given up on the ceasefire plan, brokered by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.

Turkey has seen a sharp rise in the number of refugees coming over the border in the past week, and now hosts some 24,000 Syrians, including hundreds of army defectors.

However, there are now serious doubts about whether Mr Annan’s ceasefire plan will come into effect on its Tuesday deadline.

Ceasefire timetable

10 April: Government must withdraw troops and heavy weapons such as tanks from towns, cities and villages

Following 48 hours: Ceasefire to be implemented on the ground with the onus on the opposition to follow the government’s lead

06:00 local time on 12 April: All forms of violence must be stopped on all sides

Next step: All parties to hold talks on a political solution

After having earlier agreed to Mr Annan’s plan, Damascus on Sunday called for written guarantees from rebel fighters to end attacks and a promise from foreign states not to fund them.

It said it did not want the rebels to exploit any troop withdrawal to reorganise and rearm themselves. The rebel Free Syrian Army said although it backed the UN-Arab League truce, it refused to meet the government’s new demands.

Brazilian diplomat Paulo Pinheiro, who is chairing a UN inquiry into the Syrian conflict, said the demands made by Syria were almost “impossible” to meet.

“I think that everybody in the world is worried that at the eve of the deadline, the government of Syria – instead of preparing to retreat – has escalated the military offensive,” Mr Pinheiro said.

China on Monday called on the government and opposition in Syria to “honour their commitment of ceasefire and withdrawal of troops”. But correspondents say Russia, Syria’s main ally, may now have to play a crucial role. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem is in Moscow for talks.

The UN says more than 9,000 people have been killed in the uprising against Mr Assad’s rule which began more than a year ago.

The Syrian government says 2,000 security personnel have been killed in the uprising and blames the violence on “armed gangs” and “terrorists”.

Syrian soldiers shot dead a cameraman working for Lebanon’s Al-Jadeed television channel on Monday near the border between the two countries, the television channel said.

It said cameraman Ali Shaaban was on the Lebanese side of the frontier, in the northern Lebanese region of Wadi Khaled, when soldiers opened fire on a car carrying the Al-Jadeed crew.

Shaaban’s colleague Hussein Khreiss said the shooting occurred even though the crew had explained to the soldiers what they were doing. “We told our Syrian brothers … that we are not military … but they opened fire heavily on the car,” the channel’s website quoted him as saying.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the incident. “We deplore the shooting from the Syrian side on the Lebanese media team, especially as this team was carrying out its work inside Lebanese territory,” he said.

Mikati said he would ask Syria to investigate the shooting and ensure that those responsible were held to account.

Syrian state television quoted what it called a “media source” as saying the incident occurred at the same time that Syrian guards at a nearby border post had come under fire from a “terrorist group”.

Last month Lebanese residents said Syrian soldiers crossed into Lebanon’s Bekaa valley in pursuit of Syrian rebels, and there have been several reports of cross-border shooting or shelling which have wounded people inside Lebanon.